Print system and print control method

Abstract

This invention has as its object to generate print data using minimum resources in a terminal. A browser controller acquires a predetermined Web page from an Internet print server, and inputs the URL of a Web page to be printed and a print mode on that page. Printer information is transmitted to the server together with the input information. The server reads a Web page specified by the received URL, generates print data in a format that the printer can print in accordance with the printer information and print mode, and transmits that print data to the browser controller. The browser controller transmits the print data to the printer to print it out while receiving the print data.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to a print control system and print control method and, more particularly, to a print control apparatus and print control method in a broadband printing system which efficiently generates print data for a print recording apparatus in a broad-range Internet environment or on a Web site, and feeds back data to the print recording apparatus of a terminal. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Conventionally, in order to output print data by a versatile color printer such as an ink-jet printer and the like, or a recording apparatus such as a multifunction printer or the like, a data transfer apparatus such as a personal computer or the like is normally required. Such data transfer apparatus is often used privately or for a home office (SOHO), and is connected to another data transfer apparatus, output apparatus, and the like via a wired or wireless communication network so as to offer more use applications. [0003] Data printed by ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0022] It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique that does not require any conventional print system, i.e., elaborate apparatuses such as a host PC, Web TV box, and the like required to print.

[0024] As home appliances such as a digital television and the like which may become widespread in the future, Internet connection function built-in models are expected to prevail, and the chances to connect a printer as a peripheral device may increase. The present invention has as its still another object to provide a print control apparatus and print control method, which can inexpensively and simply provide a chance to print such as a Web browser window or the like to such so-called NonPC type home appliances (also called Internet appliances; to be also referred to as IA hereinafter) and apparatuses. Especially, the present invention inexpensively provides a system by utilizing a memory on a Web server since driver software requires a huge memory size in case of a print process at high resolution.

[0025] It is still another object of the present invention to provide a print control apparatus and print control method, which can reduce the load on host resources (memory and the like) by utilizing a server on the Internet for a data process of a printer driver, which is installed in a host even in a print system using the host, and are friendly for the user, since neither installation of a printer driver nor update of the driver version are required.

[0028] With this means, especially when an Internet device connected to a home appliance such as a digital television or the like is used, a data process is executed on a network without adding any extra memory for printer connection or any complicated control unit to the Internet device, and the processed data is reflected onto the Internet device as a terminal, thus easily providing a print process. Furthermore, when an Internet browser on a PC is used, a data process on the network can be executed by only installing a simple printer driver.

Problems solved by technology

However, if RGB data is input from the driver software of the recording apparatus to the recording apparatus, it is often inconvenient in term of the principles of additive color mixing (RGB) and subtractive color mixing (CMY) (in order to change the amounts of R, G, and B light components, the amounts of C, M, and Y components as complementary colors must be changed).

First, C, M, and Y color agents (inks in case of an ink-jet printer) are chemically synthesized, and do not have an accurate complementary color relationship with theoretical R, G, and B components, and it is difficult for them to express black with a high OD (optical density) value.

Second, color misregistration occurs due to low dot forming precision of an ink-jet printer, and it is difficult to express black with a high OD value.

On the other hand, it is difficult for an ink-jet printer among recording apparatuses to directly print continuous tone (multi-valued image).

Due to such HV conversion load, the printer suffers throughput drop and generation of extra cost for an HV conversion circuit.

Many printer systems acquire error information.

For this reason, a system that prints an image without using any host computer is limited.

In such system, since data is generated irrespective of the arrangement and state of the printer on the terminal side, the data cannot be efficiently generated in correspondence with the printer state or the shape of the print head.

However, this technique requires a print data process in a PC, and is not suited to a simple data transfer apparatus like an electrical home appliance.

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